He Wasn't
by gabby227
Summary: After Matt breaks up with Caroline, she doesn't believe that she's worth it. Can Damon prove her otherwise?  One-shot.


She wouldn't answer his phone calls. In fact, whenever Damon tried to reach her, she just wouldn't pick up. She even had her mother tell him that she wasn't home whenever he came around to see her.

For the first time in, well, _ever_, Damon was worried about Caroline. He wasn't sure if he was ready to accept the fact that he was in love with her, but he knew that she was hurting. And, with her hurting, it made him hurt. It sounded so fucking insane it was crazy, but somehow, Damon knew that he was sane.

Matt had broken Caroline's heart last week. He couldn't handle her being a vampire. He was having a hard time accepting that he had a vampire girlfriend, so he called it quits. Damon knew right from the moment that he met him that he didn't like Matt. There was just something off about that kid.

He had hurt Caroline pretty badly. It was just another person who couldn't accept the person that Caroline was. As Damon climbed into her window that night, he thought about going to Matt's house and telling him what he _really_ thought of him. But, then again, not like it would matter to Matt what Damon thought of him, now that he knew that Damon was a vampire. It was like the whole fucking town knew their secret, so it wasn't really much of a secret anymore.

As he stood in the darkness of her room, he watched her sleep. God, she was so beautiful when she slept. He wondered how pissed she would get when she found out that he was here, watching her. Part of him almost wished she'd awaken and see him here – she was just too damn cute when she got flustered.

He stood there for a moment before he heard her voice, "Damon? What the hell are you doing here?"

_Maybe I just got my wish_, he mused inwardly. He looked at her.

"You won't take my phone calls."

"Yeah, I know. I don't feel like talking to anyone right now." She sat up and rubbed her eyes, and then glanced at the clock beside her bed. "Damn it, Damon, it's three o'clock in the morning. This couldn't have waited until tomorrow?"

"Well, technically, it _is_ tomorrow," Damon replied with a smirk on his face. He saw her eyes get wide.

"I'm serious, Damon. I still go to school, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to see you. It's been weeks and you won't talk to anyone. I just wanted to make sure you were still alive."

"Well, you saw me," she answered harshly. "I'm still alive – well, technically I'm not, but you know. You can go now."

He sighed heavily but turned towards the window. "I'm going to go now, like you asked, but I am going to be back. Tomorrow we can have a nice long talk about why you've been avoiding me."

-x-

The next day, bright and early, Damon showed up and Liz let him in. Looking at him, she said, "Caroline's in her bedroom. She told me to let you in. What did you do to her?"

He knew it was a joke, but it still bothered him. Even though Liz didn't know everything that Damon to Caroline, he still did, and it was really starting to bother him. Where did this damn guilty conscience come from, anyway? Why was it just starting?

There was an awkward silence, and Damon said, "Thanks. I want to talk to her."

He went into her room and saw her lying on her stomach, in her bed, with a bag of Doritos in her hand. Damon knew Caroline well enough to know that she only ate real food when she was either nervous or upset. Something had gone wrong, and Damon wanted to be there for her.

"Hey Caroline," he said softly, which made her turn and look at him. He smiled sympathetically.

"Just for the record, I don't want you here. I don't want anybody here, but I know that you can crawl through the window, even if my mom won't let you in, because you've been invited. So I caved when you asked to come and see me."

"Just let me in, Caroline. I know you're hurting. You can talk to me."

She scoffed, "What's the catch, Damon?"

"Catch?"

"You don't care about anybody, except maybe Stefan, and you want to make his life living hell. You don't care about me. You're sarcastic and cynical, the only person you love besides yourself is Katherine, and I'm not sure if you even love her."

"Katherine is a bitch," Damon said, "and I do care about other people. I've come to care about Stefan, about Elena and Bonnie…and you. I care about you, Caroline."

"I'm sorry," Caroline apologized, "but I'm a little bitchy right now. Matt just dumped me."

"I heard that," Damon commented, and Caroline gave him a look, so he said, "What? Matt's got a big mouth."

"Ugh, I just hate everything and everybody. I hate Stefan and Elena because they're happy together. They're like the 'it' couple – you know, kind of like Brad and Angelina. I hate Bonnie because she's happy with Jeremy. I mean, look at it – I'm the only one without someone."

"What about me? After the whole Katherine fiasco, I don't have anybody."

"You don't _need_ anybody, Damon. You're perfectly fine solo."

"That's not true, Caroline," he said, going towards her and sitting on the edge of her bed. "That's what everybody thinks, but you know what? I have feelings, just like everyone else."

"Yeah, I know, but you don't show it. I'm just really upset, and I hate the whole freaking world. I hate everybody so much it makes me want to go on some kind of killing spree, just to make myself feel better."

"Oh please don't become another Stefan," Damon muttered, sighing, "because I couldn't handle that. I wouldn't be able to handle someone else who has the bloodlust like he does."

"It's just a thing, Damon. Something that I wish I could do, and even though I'm a vampire, I'm very happy on the blood bags."

"I know, I was kind of joking," Damon said, turning to face her. "But Caroline, Matt didn't deserve you."

Once again, Caroline scoffed, "Oh yeah? And who do you think deserves me?"

Damon looked at the floor, "Well, I don't want to sound cocky, but I think I could do pretty good in that department. Think about it – you're a vampire now and Matt's a fragile human. You could break him without even thinking. You need somebody stronger than that."

"You want to date me?" Caroline asked incredulously, and he just smirked.

"Damon! What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, Caroline."

"Then why are you acting like this? This isn't you. Where's the cynical, sarcastic Damon that I know?"

"Caroline, I know what it's like not really having somebody to turn to. If it wasn't for Stefan – and we fight most of the time – then I wouldn't have anybody. You are feeling bad because Matt dumped you, but you know what? He wasn't the one."

"How do you know that? You aren't me?"

"He left you – and he sucks for that. Because you know what, Caroline? You're special."

"Yeah, sure. I'm fucking special." Caroline muttered, scoffing.

Damon shifted so he could take her hands in his, forcing her to roll over onto her stomach, "You. Are. Special," he said, emphasizing every word. "You are fucking special, Caroline, and you deserve someone who's going to treat you like you are."

"Thanks, Damon," she replied after a few moments of silence, "I appreciate that."


End file.
